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Educational technician lead vs program assistant

The differences between educational technician leads and program assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an educational technician lead and a program assistant. Additionally, an educational technician lead has an average salary of $67,291, which is higher than the $35,193 average annual salary of a program assistant.

The top three skills for an educational technician lead include classroom management, curriculum development and child care. The most important skills for a program assistant are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Educational technician lead vs program assistant overview

Educational Technician LeadProgram Assistant
Yearly salary$67,291$35,193
Hourly rate$32.35$16.92
Growth rate12%12%
Number of jobs8,70096,901
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4343
Years of experience1212

What does an educational technician lead do?

An educational technician lead shows their leadership skills by creating educational lesson plans, covering as many topics as possible to enrich students' physical, mental, and social skills. They are to keep records of student profiles and record milestones. They also assist children with special needs to achieve the highest level of learning possible. They must communicate with other technicians to share ideas and improve plans to better children's welfare and intelligence.

What does a program assistant do?

Program assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees assigned to a department that handles a specific program in the organization. They assist the team they are assigned to in the implementation of the programs. They usually take care of administrative or clerical activities while also getting exposure to actual program management. Program assistants get trained to handle agendas from inception, to sourcing, to implementation, to evaluation. They may also handle documentary support for business cases or other presentation materials that the team may need for a specific part of the program management cycle.

Educational technician lead vs program assistant salary

Educational technician leads and program assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Educational Technician LeadProgram Assistant
Average salary$67,291$35,193
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $115,000Between $27,000 And $45,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew HampshireConnecticut
Best paying companyMicrosoftThe Aspen Institute
Best paying industry-Government

Differences between educational technician lead and program assistant education

There are a few differences between an educational technician lead and a program assistant in terms of educational background:

Educational Technician LeadProgram Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - FullertonNorthwestern University

Educational technician lead vs program assistant demographics

Here are the differences between educational technician leads' and program assistants' demographics:

Educational Technician LeadProgram Assistant
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 30.7% Female, 69.3%Male, 24.8% Female, 75.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 7.1% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%Black or African American, 13.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 6.7% White, 53.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.2%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between educational technician lead and program assistant duties and responsibilities

Educational technician lead example responsibilities.

  • Provide support and assistance in achieving and maintaining CDC's certification and national accreditation.
  • Maintain current training on first aid, CPR, IEP, current training and workshops.
  • Conduct and participate in IEP meetings, create IEP/goals, and implemented/creat behavior plans.
  • Serve as an educational assistant and dedicate aide in the special education department as well as in a general education kindergarten classroom
  • Follow the NAEYC rules and regulations.

Program assistant example responsibilities.

  • Lead classes in anatomy/physiology, medical terminology, transcription.
  • Manage oversight of budget/finance, personnel and continuous program improvement.
  • Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.
  • Instruct students in C++ and Java programming, robot design and construction.
  • Introduce students to various computer pro- gramming languages (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
  • Present information about RSVP to community organizations.
  • Show more

Educational technician lead vs program assistant skills

Common educational technician lead skills
  • Classroom Management, 15%
  • Curriculum Development, 14%
  • Child Care, 10%
  • Learning Environment, 9%
  • IEP, 7%
  • Public Schools, 6%
Common program assistant skills
  • Patients, 12%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Data Entry, 8%
  • HR, 6%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
  • Data Collection, 4%

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